


we don't talk about The Boulder (an ATLA character analysis)

by EtchJetty



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Essays, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:27:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24953014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EtchJetty/pseuds/EtchJetty
Summary: The Boulder is one of the most underrated characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Who is he? Why is he in the intro to every single episode? What's his whole, y'know? Deal?Read (or watch) this essay and find out!
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	we don't talk about The Boulder (an ATLA character analysis)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [the video version of this essay](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/639358) by me. 



Transcript:

In the very first moments of every single episode of Avatar the Last Airbender, we are introduced to four characters, representing the peak performance in each of the four elements.

For Water, we have Pakku, the man who would go on to train Katara and marry into their family. His skill is only outmatched by his sexism.

For Fire, we have Azula. She's possibly the greatest Firebender of all time, considering her blue fire is totally unreplicated, in addition to her mastery of lightning.

For Air, we have Aang. His skill is nearly unparalleled in the Air Nomads. He received his tattoos at 12 not because he was the Avatar, but because he's just that damn good at Airbending, inventing new techniques *by himself* just so that he can play a game better. 

So who do we have for Earth? Perhaps a member of the Dai Li? Maybe King Bumi? Or Master Yu, the Earthbender who refused to train Aang?

No. Instead we have...

THE BOULDER. 

The Boulder is in every single episode. All of them. Even if he's draped in shadow, he's in every episode from the pilot to the finale. And he's placed next to some of the greatest benders of his era: Pakku, Azula, and Aang. 

When we first meet him, he gets his shit kicked in by Toph in 10 seconds. 

So why all the fuss? Why is he in the intro at all?

Well, in wrestling terms, the point of putting him in the intro is to put Toph "over". By comparing The Boulder directly to Pakku, Azula, and Aang, it shows the audience, who will recognize him the moment he steps into the ring, that he's not someone to be messed with.

And by showing Toph kicking his ass, the point is to let us know that Toph is the greatest Earthbender of all time. 

Of course, this is just window dressing. I could go on about genius of Toph's reveal and the buildup to it, from the obvious teasers like Toph appearing as a giggling spirit in the Swamp, to Aang's frustration with the cycle of elements in *The Deserter*, but for now I really want to get to The Boulder as a person. 

So far all of this has been discussing The Boulder in relation to Toph. Why is he in the intro, why is he shown to beat every single opponent in the pro-bending arena, why is he so damn buff? To fake us out when Toph, a twelve-year-old blind girl, ends up being the true Earthbending master instead. 

But who is The Boulder? 

Well, for starters, he's a parody of a famous IRL wrestler, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. This is... pretty obvious from his name. He's not bald, but he might as well literally be The Rock.

The Boulder is a man who has integrity. He believes in righteousness. When he saw Toph get thrown out of the ring with no Earthbending, he's suspicious. Of course he is.

The Boulder isn't a chump, he knows what Pro-Bending looks like. He's got an eye for that sort of thing. And once he loses the rematch to Team Avatar, he concedes, unlike the pair of people who chase Toph all the way to Ba Sing Se.

Actually, concedes isn't a strong enough word for what he does. The Boulder looks inside himself, realizes that he's part of a corrupt organization, and *leaves.* The group that he's staked his entire reputation on, he just... Walks away.

Why?

To fight for freedom.

This is what I mean when I say The Boulder is a man of integrity. He could have stayed a pro-Bender for the rest of his life and been fairly well off. Instead, he fights.

He fights for his homeland and his people. He is part of the raid on the Day of Black Sun (alongside Hippo) and sacrifices himself (alongside the rest of the raiders) for the Avatar. 

The Boulder could have died.

Instead, the last shot we see of him is as a proud member of the awaiting crowd, witnessing Zuko's coronation, in the same city he was trying to raid just months earlier.

The Boulder, for all that he was meant to just be a bait and switch for Toph's reveal, is really a fleshed out character who could have just been a one-off gag, like so many other characters were. 

But the team behind the show wanted to make a world that felt real, where people made their own decisions.

And so, The Boulder saw the error of his ways, and decided to fight for his kingdom. 

In conclusion, stan The Boulder, even if Toph's the better bender. :P

Hey! Just wanted to add in a few minor details in this outro to preempt comments. First of all, no, it’s not technically The Boulder in the intro at all. According to an interview, link in the description, it’s a weird, beta version of Toph, who was supposed to be a buff muscley Earthbender who competed in pro-bending matches, was kind of full of himself, but had a big heart. ...Sound familiar? 

Also, I just love so many little details in this show. Like, one of my favorite stupid memes of all time is this reddit post called “When You Didn’t Know Prince Zuko Was Skilled With Broadswords” and it’s just so beyond dumb as a meme, but it’s based on this super neat sense of continuity that Avatar has. In that scene, Zhao is looking at the “purely decorative” broadswords with suspicion, because he thinks Zuko might be the Blue Spirit. Obviously, they’re the same swords, but those swords are in the very first episode of the show. Presumably, they were purely decorative, but then the writers gave them to the Blue Spirit and it added a ton of depth to Zuko. So this background prop gets to then be a source of fantastic drama when you then become aware that Prince Zuko, is skilled with broadswords.

Anyways, like comment and subscribe, and here’s hoping this video doesn’t get copystriked!

Sources for Info:

https://animesuperhero.com/toon-zone-news-interviews-bryan-konietzko-and-mike-dimartino-avatar/  
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastAirbender/comments/5lhl4m/atla_when_you_didnt_know_prince_zuko_was_skilled/  
https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Opening_sequence

Music:  
Half-Life 1 OST - Military Precision  
Splatoon 2 OST - #8 chill - dedf1sh  
Dust Devil - D-Code  
Jake Chudnow - Moon Men (Instrumental)  
The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time 3D OST: Hyrule Field Main Theme  
Nerreave - Chill Lofi Beats at the Windmills (https://www.youtube.com/c/nerreave)


End file.
